Storytelling is pretty great for 16-bit (characters actually talk back to each other, which is better than most other games of the time, where the dialog was little more than a sign post to tell you where to go next).I think that, and some of the music, is worth putting up with the flaws in the battle system. Namely, it sorta resembles the early Dragon Quests. You can't choose individual targets, and if a character ends up targeting a dead enemy group, they won't be redirected to a living group. And I suspect it uses some kind of ATB-like method to determine turn order. Order seems to be kinda random, and once you've confirmed a character's command, you can't go back, even if you're immediately asked to command another character.The second game, which comes first in the plot (the only game of the two to be released in PAL) improved the battle system. It allowed you to target any enemy, you could choose how many enemies to divide spell damage among, and it also added a then-unique counterattack system, where taking more damage would fill a special gauge that could be spent to unleash special attacks that are available with certain equipment. It also added a (then unique) system where you could find "capsule monsters" and add them to your party. They'd respond automatically. They'd request you feed them certain items to make them evolve. But that feature was glitched in the NA version, making them request mostly rare items (the stuff they ask was supposed to be common items, easily purchased once you had cash to burn). It was fixed in the PAL versions.

I hope this gets a PAL release, even though some of its battle system flaws sound annoying. I would want to play the series in chronological order but would it feel like too much of a step backwards if I played rise of the sinistrals before fortress of doom?